Ecuador: You would cry, too, if you’d waited for 50 years

It was in 2001 that my father showed me the meaning of true passion for the Tricolor. Ecuador only needed a draw to qualify for its first ever World Cup, scheduled for the next summer in Korea and Japan, and the team was having a great run. My dad and I had watched a few games together in front of the TV. Dad was a great fan, but like most people in the country he didn't have much faith in the team: "We played as we never would, but we lost as we always do," he would say after every defeat.

The decisive game was against Uruguay at the Atahualpa Stadium in Quito. A goalless tie was broken in the 43rd minute when Nicolás Olivera scored for Uruguay. The city felt cold and my father's face was suddenly emotionless. The game continued with some chances for us by Agustín "Tin" Delgado and the captain, Álex Aguinaga, but I didn't expect it would end well. I went downstairs to get something to drink and eat, and suddenly, from the kitchen I heard a huge roar: "Gooaaaaaaaal!" It was my dad's voice. It was the 73rd minute. Center forward Iván Kaviedes had scored. I thought the second floor of our house would crumble.

It was obvious that we had tied the score, so I grabbed my food and ran up the stairs. My dad couldn't take it anymore, he was lying on the sofa, biting his nails, pulling his hair, checking his watch every half a second. I have seldom seen him so stressed. Time kept on going, the score remained tied – enough to send us through. When the final whistle came, my dad jumped up from the sofa as if it was burning his body. A second later he was on his knees on the floor, crying and shouting "Thank you, Kaviedes! Thank you!"

I was scared for him so I told him, "Calm down, Dad, don't overreact." He answered: "If you had lived the last 50 years I have been waiting for this moment, you'd be here crying with me!" He cried for a long time. I sat beside him and I felt happy for him. We have never again said that we played as we never would, but we lost as we always do. Ecuador is going to its third World Cup.

As told to Africasacountry.